


Pet Names

by maridel_organa_hardeen



Series: Loki Reader Inserts [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Bathtubs, Caretaking, Comfort, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hair Washing, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki Gets a Hug (Marvel), Loki Whump, Love, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Torture, Pet Names, Physical Abuse, Pizza, Reader as caretaker, Torture, Touch-Starved, Whump, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:47:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29804526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maridel_organa_hardeen/pseuds/maridel_organa_hardeen
Summary: When you call Loki a pet name, problems ensue.As in, a flashback. As in, I'm terrible at summaries, but decent at writing. Get your hurt/comfort here!
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki Reader Inserts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194635
Kudos: 80





	Pet Names

**Author's Note:**

> This work contains depictions of rape and torture. If those things will hurt you, please, please PLEASE don't read it. I have a couple of other Loki/Reader fics that are lighter, and there are thousands more out these if none of mine suit you.  
> That being said, if you do go ahead, enjoy!

“Hello, my pet! Ready for breakfast?” You stood at the counter with your back to Loki, rummaging around in a drawer. Which means that you didn’t see him when he crumpled to the ground at your words.

_ "Hello, my pet. Let's see what we have for today!" The Titan dragged him out of his corner by his broken arm, but Loki was too exhausted to do anything but squeeze his eyes shut and whimper. Suddenly, he heard metal clanking and felt something cold around his neck. _

_ "Look at what a good pet you make! Tell me, what are you?" Thanos asked.  _

_ Loki shook his head, frantically digging at the edges of the collar, searching for some way, any way, to get it off. _

_ “I asked you something." He grabbed his captive by the hair and lifted him several inches off the ground. "It's rude to ignore people when they talk to you. That makes you rude. Tell me, what are you?" _

_ "A pet." _

_ "Not quite." Thanos dropped him and delivered a boot to his emaciated stomach. "Try again." _

_ "Your pet." Loki couldn't help himself, and the tears started to come. _

_ "I still feel like you're missing something." _

_ "Your rude pet." _

_ "Good!" The titan smiled sadistically, and Loki tried to hide his face. "And what happens to rude pets?"  _

_ "Th-they get punished."  _

_ "Yes. And why do rude pets like you get punished?" _

_ "Because that's what they deserve," he answered defeatedly. _

_ "Who deserves to be punished?" _

_ "I do." _

_ "Well then, since you're such a bad, rude pet, I guess we'd better get on with it." _

“Lo?” You turned to see him on his hands and knees, crawling towards a corner, shaking like a leaf. Throwing the fork in your hand aside, you rushed over to him. He huddled in the corner, trembling and weeping and muttering. You reached out for his hand, but he screeched at your touch and jerked away.

“What’s wrong, honey? Honey?”

_ "What's wrong, honey?" Thanos crooned. He held a sobbing Loki in his lap. One hand ran through Loki's dark, matted hair, and the other held a long, needle-sharp dagger embedded in his hip. _

_ Loki was just too tired to fight anymore. Everything hurt, everything hurt  _ so much _.  _

_ "Honey, aren't you enjoying this? I always enjoy spending time with you." The titan's hand left his captive's hair and fingered the other wounds covering his body, reopening some, testing how far into his flesh Thanos could sink his hand. _

_ Loki didn't even try to respond. They were just going to hurt him more, no matter what he did. No matter what happened, there would always be more pain, more humiliation, more terror. That, he had learned. _

_ The dagger twisted cruelly in his hip, then pulled out a moment later, eliciting a frightened yelp from Loki and a laugh from his tormentor, who swiftly sank his weapon into an even more tender spot. _

_ Unable to stop himself, Loki shrieked as the blade dug into his ass. He scratched and struggled to get away, but his strength was gone. He couldn't do anything but weep through the pain. _

_ "Aw, honey, what's the matter? Did that hurt?" Thanos grabbed his face roughly and tilted it up at an awkward angle. "You're weak. A weak, pitiful little pet. You'll just have to learn that, won't you, honey? _

__ He jerked at an odd angle and yelped, though you hadn’t touched him again. Clutching at his hips, he ducked his head away from you, as if he was responding to you, and yet not you. He was clearly having some kind of flashback, and all you could think to do was talk to him.

“Oh, sweetheart. C’mon honey, come back to me. Sweetheart?” But now he was reacting to what you just said, and it broke your heart.

_ "Oh, sweetheart, I have a surprise for you today!" Thanos stomped into Loki's cell and advanced into the far corner where his captive cowered in a half-dried pool of blood, weakly picking at the threads holding his lips shut. _

_ "No, no, bad pet, sweetheart. We talked about this!" He wrenched Loki's hand away from his mouth, the bones of his wrist cracking as Thanos pinned him to the ground. "Bad pets that don't do what they're told have to be punished, sweetheart. And you just can't seem to listen! Anyway, this adds an element of interest, don't you think?" _

_ Loki simply looked at him, a world of pain in his eyes. _

_ "Back to the surprise. I was talking to my friends the other day, and you know what, sweetheart? They think you are just the cutest thing." He ran a thick finger under Loki's chin. "And I think they might be right. They asked very nicely if they could have some time alone with you, if you know what I mean, but I told them only if you want to. What do you say, sweetheart? You'd like that, wouldn't you?" _

_ "Mhmmmnn!!! Nnnhhh!" Loki' pupils blew wide with fear, and he tossed his head back and forth, panic building in his gut. He would do anything, anything, if only- But he knew, even as he lay there quivering, that it would do no good. The titan's only goal was to remind him of how very powerless he was _

_ "You would? Well, then, I'll go tell them." _

_ When Thanos left, Loki dragged himself back into his corner. The corner was far away from the door. The corner held the illusion of safety. _

_ Safety that wouldn't last. The door was flung open, and those horrid creatures rushed in, flinging Loki into the center of his cell and tearing off the rags he wore.  _

_ Hands. Hands everywhere. Touching, poking, prodding. _

_ Mouths everywhere. Touching him in poor mockeries of kisses. Telling him about what a pretty pet he was, how he was just what they wanted. Hooting to each other when every last scrap of fabric had been ripped away. _

_ "Have fun, sweetheart!" Thanos slammed the door behind him. _

_ Loki went limp on the cold floor. _

_ They were hurting him so badly, pain waving over him at their every touch, every thrust, and he couldn't even scream. _

_ The stitches bit into his lips as he strained to open his mouth, but all that came out was a strangled moan, which seemed to arouse the creatures even more. _

_ When each and every one of them had finished having their way with him, they left him there, naked on the floor. _

_ Bleeding, sore, and lying in bodily fluids, the last thing he remembered before slipping into the sweet relief of unconsciousness was Thanos' voice: _

_ "Have fun, sweetheart!" _

His eyes grew wide with fear, seeing, yet not seeing. You hadn’t thought he could get any farther back into the corner, but he balled up even more and pressed his back into the crevice, protecting his face and his body from something. Then he started to wail. A long, mournful, terrified scream. When he ran out of breath, what you could see of his face crumpled, and he started to sob, heaving his shoulders and moaning.

Tears of your own started to drip down your cheeks.

“Lo, don’t cry, darling. Please, please, come back to me. You're here with me, you're safe. Don't cry, darling.”

_ "Don't cry, darling. You brought this on yourself; it's your fault." _

_ The whip shot through the air and cut another deep, bloody line into the shredded skin of Loki's back. Even through the overwhelming pain, Loki could feel the sickening sensation of drops of blood running down his legs and plinking onto the filthy floor. _

_ "You just can't be an obedient pet, can you? My rules are simple and easy to follow. But you are just" _

Crack!

_ "Too" _

Crack!

_ "Stubborn." _

Crack!

“ _ I suppose we'll have to keep this up until you can come around to my point of view, darling." _

_ Loki hung his head as low as the collar would allow him, tears coating his cheeks. _

__ Crack!

_ It hurt too much to yell anymore. _

_ Crack _

_ Pain everywhere, pain all the time.  _

Crack!

_ He couldn't remember a time when every inch of his body hadn't hurt. _

Crack!

_ The strokes became wilder, cutting into his arms and legs and ass.  _

Crack!

_ Thanos hadn't bothered replacing the ruined clothes after yesterday's punishment, saying 'he hadn't realized just how pretty his pet was' and that 'pets shouldn't have clothes anyway', and Loki was cold and exposed and all he wanted to do was die. _

Crack!

_ But he knew for certain that he couldn't die: the Titan wouldn't allow it.  _

Crack!

_ Not until Loki agreed to his plan. _

Crack!

_ "What do you think, darling?" _

Crack!

_ "Care to reconsider?" _

If Loki hadn't been completely hysterical a moment ago, he certainly was now. And you couldn't do anything to comfort him. That hurt you most of all. Every word that came out of your mouth seemed to thrust him deeper into his terror, and if you couldn't touch him, and you couldn't talk to him, there was no way to bring him out of it. You'd found him in an episode like this once after he'd been missing for several hours. 

The reminder that he could and would stay like this until someone brought him out if it gave you a final burst of courage, and you tried to figure out exactly what you were saying that bothered him so much. They were the same type of things you usually said: loving pet names coupled with reminders of where and when he was and they no one was hurting him.

Following a simple line of reasoning, the pet names had to be what was causing this, though he'd always liked them in the past. You raked your brain for what exactly your first words to him had been that morning. You'd asked him if he'd wanted breakfast, and you'd called him, what had you called him? Pet, that was it.

Could that be it? In a certain context… in a certain context that could be horrific. And Loki had plenty of certain contexts.

Maybe if you said something only you called him, a name you were certain nobody else has ever called him, you could pull him out of it.

You had it.

"Loki Friggason. Loki, come back. Come back to me. You're safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Loki Friggason, you're safe." You studied his face carefully, gauging his reaction. 

He let out a little gasp, lifting his face to look at you, rather than through you as he has been doing. He whispered your name.

"Yeah, yeah Loki, I'm here. You're safe, see? Nobody else here, just me."

He sighed shakily and slumped in his spot, a few tears doing down his nose. It pained you to see that he was still shaking.

“Loki? You with me?”

“W-why are you here?” he croaked. “M not- I’m not w-worth it, M just a weak, pitiful pet. Don’t you know? Don’t you know w-what I- what I did?” He balled back up, tears coming harder and faster now, and you could only make out snatches of what he tried to say. “A-all my f-f-fault, wasn’t- couldn’t- j-just a pet, don’t de-deserve anything, j-just worth-worthless pet. Only- only pun-punishment. N-n-no good, only p-pain Then I’ll, then I’ll l-learn to be good- b-be a obe-obedient pet and-”

“No,” you interrupted. “No, no, no, no, no, no. Loki? C’mon, look at me,” you prompted softly, and he complied. 

“None of that’s true. The people that hurt you told you that. Remember? They were horrible, evil people and they hurt you because they wanted to. Not because that’s what you deserve. Do you hear me, Loki? They lied to you. None of those things are true. 

“You aren’t a pet. You’re Loki Friggason, Crown Prince of Asgard, Brother of Thor, friend of the Avengers, and the man I love. Do you understand? You. Are. Not. A. Pet.”

“B-but-”

“No buts, Loki. No part of what happened to you was your fault. You didn’t deserve any of it,” you contradicted every statement you’d heard through his sobs, “You are not worthless. Not to Thor, not to Val, not to Heimdall, not to Tony, or Steve, or Nat, or Bruce, or Wanda, or Bucky, or Sam, or any of the other people in this place. And you are  _ not _ worthless to me, because I love you. I love you. Do you understand me, Loki? Can you nod for me?”

He looked mostly incapable of speech, but he gave you a shaky nod.

“Good. You deserve every good thing this life could ever give you. No more punishments. No more pain. Just good things. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“Anything you remember them telling you, just assume that it’s a lie. You can come and ask me. I’ll never lie to you.”

Another shaky nod.

“Is there anything you want to ask me now?”

“Am I- am I not too damaged?”

“No,” you answered fiercely. “You are not too damaged. Ever. You will never be too damaged for me.”

He swallowed hard and nodded.

“Do you want to just sit there for a minute?” you asked gently.

“Yes, please.”

“Do you want me to stay too?”

“Yes, please. Just don’t- don't touch me just yet. Not while I’m still thinking of… of other people’s hands,” he requested sheepishly.

“Of course. I’m right here when you want me.” You gave him a small smile. You were relieved to hear him sounding more like his usual self.

You sat there with him for nearly ten minutes, him still pressed into the corner, you a non-threatening distance away. As the time passed, his breathing evened out and he stopped shaking as badly.

“Would you… would you come sit here with me?” 

“Sure, Lo.” You scooted over to him. “You want me to touch you, or did you just want me a little closer?”

“Touch, please?”

“Anytime.” You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him haf-into your lap. 

Draping his long arms sound your shoulders, he nuzzled his head in that perfect spot between your neck and shoulder. You could still feel little shudders running through him.

“This ok?” you checked, tracing lines and patterns onto his back.

“Yes,” he sighed, relaxing even more.

“Stop me if something isn’t right, ok?”

“Ok.”

You put every bit of your energy into comforting him, stroking his back and carding through his hair. When he started to cry again, you pulled away a little, but he grabbed on even tighter.

“Hey, hey, now. You ok?” You felt him nod into your shoulder. “Ok, ‘sokay. Go ahead and cry. ‘Sokay.” You murmured and rocked him back and forth a little while he shuddered and soaked your shirt. After the torrent died down a little, you pressed a kiss to his temple.

“That’s it, I’ve got you.” 

“I g-got your shirt all wet.”

“Pfft, I don’t care.” After a few more minutes, you’d come up with a plan. “Hey, Lo?”

“Hmm?”

“We can sit here all day if you want to, but why don’t we go run a bath for you? It’d probably make you feel better,” you suggested. 

“That does sound nice.” He pulled back from you so you could get up, then wrapped himself back around you as soon as you were on your feet. 

You walked back to the bathroom and knelt to fill the tub at the perfect temperature for him. He always liked it a bit cooler than you did.

“How’s this?” You directed him to test the water quickly filling the tub, and he nodded. You turned your back while he stripped and slipped into the tub. He was modest at the best times, but after an episode like this, he couldn’t stand for anyone to look at him.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“If you- if you don’t mind, I’d rather you didn’t,” he requested, looking away.

“Sure, Lo. Just call me if you need anything. I’ll go put one of those pizzas you like in the oven, ok?” You shut the behind yourself, and headed to the kitchen. You rummaged through the freezer for a minute before pulling out a frozen pizza and sliding it into the oven. 

“You have an incoming call from Ms. Romanoff.”

“Oh, ok, Fri. Put her through.”

“Hey, Hotshot.” Nat’s voice came through.

“Hey, Nat.”

“You two ok? None of us have seen you all day.”

“We’re ok. He had a… an episode this morning.”

Nat sucked in her breath sympathetically.

“Bad one?”

“Pretty bad.” You grimaced. “But he’s better. Knows where he is and everything, just really shaken. I’ve got him in the bath, and I’m fixing some food right now.”

“Ok. You need anything? I can stick it in the elevator and have Friday send it up.”

“I can’t think of anything. Just let the others know we won’t be down today.” You thought for a moment. “And make sure Thor knows not to come up. I have a feeling that might now be a good idea right now.”

“Sure thing. Just call me if you need anything, k?”

“I will, don’t worry.” Just then, you heard him calling you from the bathroom. “Oops, got to go.”

“K, talk to you later.”

You hurried to the bathroom and gave the door a little tap before turning the knob.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes! Yes I’m fine. I just, um, changed my mind.”

You nodded and stepped inside, sitting down next to the tub and studying his face. You hadn't really gotten a good look at him since he calmed down.

"How do you feel?"

"Better." 

"Good. The food'll be ready in a few minutes, and then we can just spend the rest of the day on the couch."

He nodded and reached for the shampoo.

"Hey, you want me to do that?"

"Would you?"

"Sure." You took it from him, squirting the proper amount into your palm. Lately, he'd started using your shampoo and conditioner, since his hair was getting longer, and you smiled as you breathed in the familiar scents of lavender and citrus. You lathered it a bit in your hands and bent over his head to massage it into his dark hair. 

You did a thorough job, maybe more thorough than necessary, but he seemed so relaxed as you worked, sighing and leaning into your touch, that you couldn't bring yourself to stop. Eventually, though, you reached for the cup you kept to wash your own hair. Filing it with the warm bathwater, you poured several cup-fulls over his hair, making certain you hadn't missed any shampoo.

After working a bit of conditioner into the ends, you heard the timer go off in the kitchen.

"I’d better go take that out." You dried your hands on the bathmat and pressed a kiss to his forehead before hurrying back into the kitchen. Managing not to burn yourself for once, you slid the pizza out of the oven and plopped it onto a plate. Loki joined you a minute later, looking rather small in his black cotton sweats.

“Ready for some food?” You wrapped an arm around his waist firmly.

“I’m not particularly hungry.”

“I know, but you’ll feel better if you have something. Just a slice?” you bargained. “I don’t want you to get a headache.”

“You don’t have to do this. I’m fine.” He pulled away a little and looked at the ground.

“No offense, Lo, but you’re not fine,” you corrected. “You just spent nearly an hour having multiple flashbacks of things I can’t even imagine. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine. And you’re right, I’m not doing this because I have to. I’m doing it because I want to. Because I love you. So let me take care of you for a while, ok?” 

“Alright.” He furrowed his brows a little and leaned back into you.

“Here.” You handed him a paper plate with a slice and took one for yourself. “C’mon, couch.”

Settling into the corner of the couch, you held out an arm for him, and he squeezed tight next to you. After a few minutes of eating in silence, you got up to toss the plates and came back to find him with his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

“Hey, hey. C’mere.” Placing a hand on his shoulder, you him gently, and when he loosened his arms a little, you pulled him close and rested his head on your chest. He sighed a little and you felt some of the tension in his back melt away under your touch.

“Lo, you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but if those names I’ve been calling you bother you, why didn’t you tell me?”

“They don’t, it’s just… just that one,” he faltered, “Just pet. After you- it was only after I was already back there that the others… that I remembered about the others.” He took a deep, shaky breath. 

“I loved it when you called me those things. It was nice that someone, that you, weren’t frightened of me. That- that you cared enough to want to call me something other than my name. But now he’s taken that from me too.” The pain in his voice nearly brought tears to your eyes. Yet another thing that that damned titan had taken from him. 

“I managed to forget it, but I don’t think I can do it again. He’s dead and he’s still torturing me.”

“I’m so sorry, Lo. Hang on, though. There are hundreds of thousands of those names. He can’t have ruined all of them. We’ll figure something out,” you comforted. 

“Do you really think so?”

“Sure. You want me to try a few? If you don’t like it, all you gotta do is shake your head.

“Alright.”

After thinking for a minute, you’d come up with a little list.

“Baby?”

He shuddered and shook his head.

“That’s fine. You’re right here with me, ok? You want to try another one?”

“Yes.”

“Sugar?”

“ _ No _ .” He tensed and buried his face in your shoulder.

“Ok, ok. Let’s be done for now.”

“No!” he snapped. “I don’t want to let him have this. He shouldn’t still get to do this to me.”

“Ok, one more. I don’t want to lose you again today. What about Love?”

“Love?” He softened. “Love?”

“Yeah, Love,” you echoed, running your fingers through his still-damp hair. “What do you think?”

“Love. I- I like it.”

“Good.” Smiling comfortably, you brushed your lips over the top of his head.

There would be hard days. You would lose him to his memories again. But maybe, just maybe, he felt like he had a piece of what had been stolen from him back again.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make Loki smile! I smile too. Smiles?  
> I'm interested in taking requests, so if you like my work and have an idea you'd like to see my take on, leave it in the comments!


End file.
